Bits and bobs as the trade deadline passes

I’ve posted mighty infrequently of late. I attribute that to most of my energy being sponged up by a couple of major project at work. Nonetheless, here are a few thoughts that have been passing through my brain in recent days:

– It sucks to get swept. The San Francisco Giants dropped three straight to the Reds in Cincinnati, and it was painful to watch.

– Blowouts – the upside. Most baseball announcers make the most out of tight ballgames with dramatic conclusions. It takes someone special to make a blowout entertaining, and that’s what we got today from Jon Miller on the Giants’ broadcast on KNBR. The Reds’ Todd Frazier made an out late in the game, with the Reds up by an insurmountable eight runs, and Miller gave just a hint of Howard Cosell as he said, “And down goes Frazier.”

Miller then launched into a story he heard from Eric Karros, the former Dodgers player who was once beaned in the head. According to Miller, as Karros lay in the dirt, all he could hear going through his mind was Cosell’s “and down goes Frazier.”

– The trade deadline frenzy is fun. There was a flurry of trades this year, and it was fascinating to see it unfold. Only time will tell if the strategy of some teams to make bold moves – the Indians snagging Ubaldo Jimenez chief among them – and others to stand pat – the Yankees, for example – will succeed.

I must say it was good to see the Tribe and the Pirates go after talent for the playoffs instead of engaging in the more typical “wait ’til next year” fire sales.

– Under pressure. The Giants brought in Carlos Beltran as a stud but so far he’s been a dud. His batting average has dropped about 10 points since he came over from the Mets, and he has virtually no measurable impact on the Giants’ offense. I’m sure he’ll come around.